So, Things Happened
by MeltedIceAngel
Summary: Rick comes across tough guy Dean Winchester on his way to Atlanta. Introductions are made and the two end up traveling together in search of their missing family. [ Warnings: Wincest ]
1. Days Gone By

**Fandoms: The Walking Dead & Supernatural**

**Pairings: Sam/Dean, canon TWD**

**Warnings: Wincest (incest)**

**Disclaimer: We don't own anything involving TWD or SPN no matter how much we wish we did.**

"You gotta wake up, Rick." He was so sure that it was a dream. He wouldn't normally be telling himself to wake up. Right? Right. "Rick, wake up." There it was again. This wasn't right. This wasn't normal. Why did he have to wake up again? His eyes opened, pupils constricting at the bright light in the room. His throat felt dry, and he felt like he'd been hit by a bus. What had happened? Oh, right. He was shot. Why was he shot, again? It took a moment to remember. "Nurse?" he called out, throat still dry. He looked at the flowers that Shane had left for him, noting that they were now dead. He'd been here for a while.

Could he move? He tried lifting his arm, and was able to move it. Okay, that was a start. He shifted, sitting up. How long had he been out? "Hello?" He sat up, shifting his legs over the side of the bed. Oh, but he still hurt. He couldn't have been out for very long, then. When he tried to stand, however, he ended up falling. He tried grabbing onto the machine to help him regain balance, and somehow succeeded as he ripped the IV out of his arm carelessly and made it to the bathroom.

He was thirsty, so very thirsty. He drank from the sink, drank like he'd been without water for far longer than he really had been. It felt like ages since he'd had water, and he still didn't know how long he had been out. When he managed to pull himself together, he called out again. "Nurse? Hello?" He left the bathroom, heading out into the room and looking around. The halls were desolate, empty. Weren't hospitals supposed to be busy? He always knew that to be true, ever since he was young. But the halls were empty, quiet.

He was drawn down the hall by something, he wasn't sure what, but there was a body laying on the floor past the double doors at the end of the hall. What greeted him at the other end was something he had never thought he would see. Scrawled across the chain locked doors was something he could have gone his entire life without seeing. "Dead Inside". What did it mean? He tried the chains, hands and the smell of death and decay pushing through the minimal opening as something applied pressure from the other side. Rick shot back as quickly as he was able, trying for an exit when something inside of him told him to run.

He fell down the stairs, but no one needed to know that. As he pushed the door open and stepped outside, the first things that assaulted his senses were the brightness of the sun and the smell of death and decay hanging in the air like humidity on a summer day. Once his eyes adjusted, he pushed onward. This wasn't supposed to be. This was something that was only supposed to happen in science fiction movies. What was it that Carl and all of those Apocalypse obsessed people called it? He couldn't remember the term as he pressed onward, passing what used to be a woman crawling along the ground, the lower half of her body missing.

He stopped for a moment, watching her pull herself along the ground. After a moment, he kept moving forward, looking for his house. He burst in through the door, calling out. "Lori! Carl!" he called, looking around. He noted that all of the pictures were gone, photo albums, too. Lori and Carl weren't there. Where were they? Were they alright? He curled up on the floor, crying at the possibility of losing his family. He eventually got up and headed outside, walking along the sidewalk trying to find anyone that could help him.

Before he could get far, he was hit in the face with a shovel and knocked onto his ass. "Carl?" he asked, looking at the kid who hit him. "Daddy, I got one!" the kid yelled, Rick passing out as the other man ran toward the both of them. He woke up with his hands bound to the bed frame. "My boy said you can talk." the man said, Rick focusing on the man in the room with him. "Were you bitten?" he asked. "What?" Rick asked, blinking a bit to clear his vision. "I asked if you were bitten." he said, Rick laying his head back down. "No, I was shot."

The man nodded, taking the liberty to cut the tape binding Rick's hands to the headboard. "Don't try anything funny." Rick nodded, sitting up. "Your wound was festering. I took the liberty of cleaning it for you." he said. "My name is Morgan, the boy is my son, Duane." Rick nodded again, moving his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up completely.

The next day, he brought Morgan and Duane to his house. "My wife and son, they're safe. I know they are." he said. "Pictures are gone. That's how I know they got out alive." Morgan looked at Rick, managing a half smile. "My wife did the same thing when we left." he said, Rick looking over to the man that had saved his life. "If we're gonna survive, we need to be armed." Rick said after a moment. "There is an armory reserve at the police station. We can go there." he said, leaving with Morgan and Duane.

He didn't realize how much he had missed hot showers as Morgan and Duane excitedly sang and babbled as they were finally able to have a hot shower. He couldn't help his smile as they continued on about it. Afterward, he brought them to the armory to arm themselves. He even showed Morgan and Duane how to use the guns that they were armed with. As soon as he was sure that things would be alright with Duane and Morgan, Rick set off.

He walked across the lawn, hoping that the Walker that had been pulling itself along the ground, and knelt beside her. "I don't know who you were, but I'm sorry that this happened. I'm sorry." Rick said, staring sadly down at the mutilated woman before him. He couldn't image the pain she must have gone through, the pain her family must have gone through. Even the thought of finding his wife and son in such a state caused an almost unbearable wave of nausea to flow through him. "Everything'll-" Rick's sentence was cut short as a gunshot sounded, the woman's head blown clean through. The sheriff looked up, terror filled eyes trained on the shooter.

"Did you know 'er?" The man asked, placing the gun back in a black holster hooked to his belt. Rick shook his head.

"What's your name?" Rick asked, coming to stand in front of the shorter man. Clad in what appeared to be blood stained jeans, muddy boots, and an over-sized hoodie made Rick question if there were people out there without a place to sit this out. Morgan and Duane had seemed well off, but what if others weren't so lucky?

"Dean Winchester." He said, shaking Rick's hand. "Yours?"

"Rick. Rick Grimes." The sheriff replied. Dean nodded, readjusting the pack worn on his back. "You alone?" Rick asked.

"Right now? Yeah." Dean responded, eyes trained on the grass below his feet. "Sent my brother and a couple of friends down to Atlanta. Figured they'd be safer there." Rick perked up at hearing this information. If he was lucky and played this out right, he might have a travel companion until they reached Atlanta. "Just about to head down there myself actually.

"My family's down there too." Rick said, knowing that what he said was as likely not true as it was true. Dean looked up at him and sighed.

"Got any stuff? You know, clothes, precious keepsakes, weapons?" Dean asked. Rick nodded and pointed out toward his parked car.

"Got a duffel full of guns and ammo." Dean's eyes widened at this, the shorter man smirking lightly as he began walking toward the road.

"Grab it and meet me at my car. Figure we'll be better off together." Dean said. Rick chuckled lightly, feeling elated as he had even a slick of a chance at seeing his family again. He really owed Dean more than he could ever repay in one lifetime.

Once the guns and ammo were loaded into the trunk of the impala and the gas siphoned from the police cruiser, the two made their way down to Georgia. Speeds were exceeded at extraordinary amounts and yet, still, time and distance seemed to pass as if they were moving a mere five miles per hour. Tired of the tense silence surrounding the men, Rick spoke up.

"So, why didn't you go down with your brother?" He asked. Dean stayed silent for a couple minutes before sighing.

"Figured he'd be safer down there with more people. I stayed behind to look for survivors." Dean explained, hands clenched against the steering wheel. "'bout a week ago the phone lines cut out. Only a couple hours after they left, ya know? Asked our friend Bobby to call and make sure they got there okay." Dean paused, sniffling slightly. "Never heard from 'em. Spent the week siphoning gas, came across you, and now here we are." Rick placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder as he quickly wiped away frightened tears. The sheriff understood the fear of losing those closest to you all too well.

"So what about you? Why didn't you go down with your family?" Dean asked.

"Got shot on the job. Woke up yesterday to all this and my family already gone." Rick said, his voice shaking as he remembered the initial horror he felt as he walked through the rows of rotting bodies. "My wife's family is down in Atlanta so I figured out of all the places she could go, it'd be there." The sheriff finished. Dean nodded, not saying a word in response.

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

Several hours later and they finally arrived on the outskirts of Atlanta. Dean took care when avoiding the rotting corpses of families and animals alike, not exactly wanting to mess up the last thing of the old world that he had.

"This doesn't look like a place you'd have a refugee camp." Rick said, sitting up in the seat a little more.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Dean replied, pulling the car over to the side of the road. "Damn it! Out of gas." He shouted, slamming his hands against the steering wheel.

"Calm down, there were plenty of cars back on the highway. Let's just go back, siphon some gas out of 'em and we're good to go." Rick said calmly, knowing how much the shorter man desperately wanted to find his brother.

"Alright. S'a long walk though." Dean said, playing with the strings on his hoodie.

"Doesn't matter." Rick shrugged, grabbing one of the many pistols from his duffel bag. Dean nodded, checking to make sure his own gun was loaded before stepping out of the car.


	2. Tell it to the Frogs

**Fandoms: The Walking Dead and Supernatural**

**Pairings: Sam/Dean, Canon TWD**

**Warnings: Wincest (incest)**

**Notes: Not going to lie, got a lot of inspiration for this chapter from some of the great Wincest fics out there. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own TWD or Supernatural...I'd like to own Misha, Jared, and Jensen but I bet that's really expensive and illegal.**

Dean grabbed the empty gas container from the back seat and slammed the car door shut, not bothering to lock it. Now a days, if somebody wanted something, they got it. Locking the doors would just be added hassle and whoever wanted the car was still going to get it. Gas or not.

"Alright, let's get on with it." Dean said, wanting to get done with this as quick as possible. The look of the town was enough to make Dean's heart sink to his stomach, but he had to make sure there really was nothing there. That the whole refugee camp was a bust. Rick followed behind the shorter man's quick strides, gun at the ready.

"So, I take it you and your brother are close?" Rick said. Dean smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, you could say that." The younger responded, hands going to play with the strings of his hoodie once again. The second Dean realized he was going have to part ways with Sammy for a while, he made a grab for anything of Sam's within reach. That happened to be an old hoodie Dean'd bought him for his 19th birthday. Out of all the clothing he had on his body, the hoodie was the only thing kept in perfect condition. The comfort the smell of his brother gave wasn't something he was willing to lose.

In exchange for the over-sized article, Dean had placed his leather jacket in Sam's pack. If nothing else, it should give Sam some semblance of comfort while he wasn't around.

"Shit." Dean muttered, stopping in his tracks. There, standing on the entrance ramp to the highway was a hoard of walkers. Rick stopped next to him, sighing in distress. There was no way they'd be able to get around all of them. "What do we do now?" Dean whispered angrily. Rick shrugged his shoulders. The younger turned and looked back toward the empty city streets, spying several run down cars and buses. With his luck, there'd be walkers spewing from the vehicles the second they got near. Not like it would've been any different than the cars on the highway, he concluded, making his way toward the wreckage.

"Go check the red one over there for walkers and I'll check this one." Dean said, tapping lightly at the windows of a totaled Chevy. Almost immediately the window was blood stained as a walker clawed at him through the glass. Once he was sure that was the only one left in the vehicle, Dean opened the door, sticking a knife through it's skull. "Sorry, man." Dean said, ripping his knife and another lodged in the man's chest out. Can't ever have too many weapons.

"Nothing in this one." Rick called out.

"Alright. Let me ju-" Dean's sentence caught in his throat as his eyes caught on a familiar vehicle.

"Dean?" Rick asked, worry lining his tone. Dean didn't respond.

"Oh no. Oh please no." Dean cried, running to the car. Without thinking the brunette slammed the door open, the smell of rotting flesh filling his nostrils. Dean stared in horror as a zombified Ash sunk his hands deep in the abdomen of a mutilated body, tossing the bloody remains into his mouth. The thing that caught his attention the most however, was the fact that corpse was wearing Sammy's shirt. The fact that right next to the body's shredded hand was the watch he had gifted Sam, the one he never took off.

"No." Dean sobbed pitifully, catching the attention of Ash. The walker growled and reached it's arms out toward Dean. The man screamed in rage, grabbing forcefully at the walker's tattered clothing and ripped him from the car.

"You fucking bitch!" Dean shouted, slamming the walker repeatedly on the hard concrete. His mind was nothing but white noise as he slammed Ash down on the ground one last time, slicing through his skull with a knife to finish the job. Dean didn't move after the walker went still, tears pouring down his dirty face. Sam was dead. His Sammy was dead, and it was all his fault. If he hadn't sent his brother down here in the first place they'd still be together. He would still be alive.

Dean breathed in deeply, standing on shaky legs. He didn't want to see his brother ripped to shreds again; didn't want to see his favorite shirt covered in his own blood and guts. Despite this, Dean walked slowly toward the car once again, staring down at his baby boy with more pain and sorrow than he'd ever allowed to cross his face. With a heart shattering sob, Dean reached across the corpse and grabbed the bloody watch, cradling it to his chest like a lifeline.

"Oh, Dean." Rick gently placed a hand on Dean's shoulder, his own tears falling from his eyes as the man crumbled beneath him. Dean laid there for what could have been minutes, hours, days, thinking of nothing but the fact he would never see his little brother again. That Sammy died in pain, that he died scared, alone, and it was all his fault.

"Dean? Dean!" Dean ignored Rick's shouts, allowing his eyes to slip closed. Without Sam, there was no reason left for him to be alive, let alone stay awake. At least a passing walker would be well fed. "Dean!"

xxx

The first thing Dean noticed as he came to was the feeling of long, slender fingers being carded gently through his hair. It was such a familiar and calming gesture that Dean was almost out like a light once again. The next was the sound of gasping sobs, the kind that you don't want others to hear. Finally, he realized was the fact those fingers, the way they hit the spots that made shivers go down his spine, even the sound of the sobbing was all familiar to him. Sammy's dead, he reminded himself. That familiarity was nothing more than an illusion playing at his mind. _Or maybe I'm dead too._

"S-Sammy?" Dean choked out, knowing there wasn't much to lose in uttering that name. He knew the voice that was going to respond back to him wasn't the voice of his baby boy, but part of him just needed to be sure.

"Dean?" Dean nearly choked on his own saliva as the sound of his brother's voice filled his ears. "Dean, it's okay, it's okay. I'm here." The person who could not really be Sammy said, pulling him closer. Dean opened his eyes slowly, green orbs trained on green. _I must be dead._

"Am-"

"No, you're not dead." Sam replied, kissing the older lightly on the forehead. Dean opened his mouth as if he had something to say before closing it again, tears falling freely from his eyes. "Oh, Dean. It's alright." Sam cradled his sobbing brother, gently wiping away the fallen tears.

"I thought you were dead." Dean cried, wrapping his arms tightly around his brother's neck.

"I'm still here. See?" Sam asked, lacing their fingers together and showing them to Dean. His big brother brought their hands to his lips, leaving soft kisses against the younger's dirt ridden hand.

"Who, then?" Dean asked, leaning his cheek against their still connected hands.

"Ellen. I let her borrow one of my shirts since hers were so torn and bloody." Sam paused, pain filled eyes mirroring his older brother's. "Rick told me about how you saw her with my shirt and thought it was me." Dean nodded sadly, turning his gaze away from Sam's.

"Why'd you take your watch off?" The older asked, curious as to why Sam would take off the one thing Dean could swear he never saw his brother without.

"Chick flick moment, I guess. Thinking about you. Just didn't have the chance to put it back on." Dean nodded and lifted himself from his brother's strong embrace.

"Dean, you shouldn't-" The older lifted a hand to silence Sam, looking around for his duffel bag.

"Where's my stuff at?" Sam pointed toward his own pack.

"Behind mine." The younger replied. Dean pulled his duffel back from behind Sam's belongings, seating himself down on the pile of pillows and blankets covering the left side of the tent. After a little searching, Dean came across the pristine gold watch, all traces of blood and guts completely removed from its surface.

"Made sure to grab this." Dean said, kneeling down next to his little brother. Sam's eyes perked up at the sight of the watch.

"I thought I'd never see that again." Sam said, his face dropping as the meaning behind his words registered. "Dean, I didn't-"

"It's okay." Dean interrupted, placing the gold watch on his brother's wrist. "Everything's okay now. You're here, you're alive. That's all that matters to me." Sam nodded, half a smile lighting his face. Dean smiled softly as well, leaning up to capture his brother's lips in his own. Sam sighed contently, wrapping his arms around his older brother's neck.

"I love you." Sam said, leaning his forehead against Dean's. The older placed one last kiss on his brother's lips.

"I love you, too, Sammy." Sam's smile brightened as Dean tightened his hold on his little brother.

"Everyone wants to meet you." The younger said. Dean groaned, releasing the hold on Sam just enough to look him in the eyes.

"Can't we just stay here a little longer? Plenty of things I'd rather do than go meet a bunch of-" Dean's sentence was cut off by the appearance of Bobby, the older man's eyes widening at the sight of Dean very much awake and holding Sam in a way he could've gone his whole life without seeing.

"Dean, you're awake." Bobby exclaimed, continuing to stand in the doorway. Dean nodded with a smile, placing a gentle kiss on his brother's cheek before going to stand in front of Bobby. "Do me a favor, let me remain oblivious." The older begged, referring to the open displays of affection between the two boys. Dean chuckled as Sam blushed, rubbing his hands across his face in a feeble attempt to rid the heat boiling his cheeks.

"No problem. Just, I don't know, happy." Dean said. Bobby nodded in understanding, clapping the boy on his shoulder.

"Come on, got a whole crew just itchin' to meet ya." The older said, making his way out of the tent. Dean sighed and looked to Sam, trying to convey how much he really didn't want to meet that whole group of people. Already their impression of him wasn't going to be the best. Weak, co-dependent. Hadn't even said a word to them but he knew they would treat him like he was incapable of looking out for himself.

"It'll be fine. They're nice people." Sam said, lifting himself up off the blankets to stand in front of his brother. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here." Dean groaned, angered by the fact Sam knew exactly what buttons to push if he wanted Dean to do something.

"Fine, but you're going out there with me." Sam chuckled, placing a chaste kiss on his brother's lips.

"Think I'm letting you out of my sight? No way. Now let's go." Dean and Sam exit the tent shoulder to shoulder, a whole group of eyes immediately trained on them. Dean smiled awkwardly, waving back at the curious group of people.

"Guys, this is my brother Dean." Sam introduced. "Dean, these are the people who took us in after Atlanta fell." Dean nodded, sparing a quick glance back at his younger brother before turning his attention back to the camp.

"Thank you. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that enough. I owe all of you so much more than I could ever repay." Dean said, eyes glossing over. The weight of how close he'd come to losing his baby brother hit him hard in the chest once again.

"You brought my husband back to me. I could've never asked for anything more." A brunette woman said, walking slowly up to Dean. "Lori." Lori extended a welcoming hand out for Dean to take, the man smiling as he shook it.

"Dean.' He responded, knowing the woman was already well aware of who he was.

"Heard a lot about you. You and your brother seem very close." Dean chuckled lightly and nodded. Oh you have no idea.

"Mom?" Lori turned sharply, smiling at the sight of a young boy grabbing at the back of her shirt.

"This is my son Carl." The brunette said, patting the boy on the head. Dean knelt down, putting his hands out toward Carl.

"C'mon, I don't bite." Dean said, Carl chuckling lightly before accepting the outstretched hand. "I'm Dean." He said, the young boy nodding in response.

"I know. When we have fire nights, we'd all tell a story. Sam's always had you in it." Carl said. Dean smiled lightly, his heart swelling at the thought of his brother consistently mentioning him. Looks like Dean was on Sam's about as much as Sam was on Dean's.

"C'mon, Carl. You've got school work to do." Lori said, taking the young boy's hand in her own. Carl nodded and waved goodbye to Dean. "See ya around." Lori said, leading Carl over to a table where four other children sat. A girl about Carl's age, two a little younger looking, then one little girl who couldn't have been more than three or four-years-old.

"Sophia, Eliza, Louis, and Skylar." Sam said, noticing his brother's gaze on the children.

"Sophia's mom is over there, hanging the clothes. Her name is Carol." Sam bit his lip as he uttered the next sentence. "Her dad, Ed, is a little bitch. That's all I'm gonna say about him. Then Eliza and Louis's parents are the ones building the fire, Morales and Miranda." Sam went silent after this, peaking Dean's interest slightly.

"Skylar?" Dean asked.

Sam sighed.

"Skylar lost her parents. Been taking care of her myself ever since we got here actually." The younger said. Dean groaned silently, rubbing at his eyes.

"Did she-"

"Yeah.' Sam cut him off. Dean nodded sadly, standing back on his feet. "She's a good kid. Shy, but good." The two brothers stood in silence for a few minutes, observing how the tiny blonde flinched away from even the smallest of touches, how she refused to take her eyes off the bark of the trees ahead of her.

"Come on, I know a place where we can be alone." Same said, patting Dean lightly on the back. The older nodded wordlessly, following Sam deep into the woods.

xxx

Dean lay with his back against the rocky riverbank, Sam cuddled comfortably across his chest. This was what he missed the most in those last couple weeks. Sam clutched tightly in his arms, the younger's evened out breathing and soft heartbeat enough to lull the older into a constant state of peace.

"I love you, Sammy." Dean said quietly, placing a gentle kiss on the base of his brother's head. The younger cuddled up closer to his brother, wrapping a lazy arm around Dean's torso.

"Love you, too." He responded. Dean knew it wasn't wise now a days to stay out after dark, especially alone, but he just couldn't muster up enough strength to wake his brother and he sure as Hell wouldn't make it all the way back to the quarry.

"Dean, we should go back." Low and behold, voice of reason is awake. "I have night watch tonight." Sam said, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Dean nodded and placed a gentle kiss on his brother's pouty lips.

"I'm tired too." Dean said, forcing Sam's lips up into a smile. The younger chuckled.

"Stay up with me please." Sam begged, giving his older that look that made Dean bend to his baby brother's every will. Dean groaned but nodded non-the-less.

"You owe me big time."

"Fine. Now let's go. I don't want Shane to come and look for us." Sam said, hauling himself and then Dean to his feet.

"Shane?" Dean asked, not recognizing the name. Must be one of the people he hadn't had the time to meet before he and Sam made a break for it.

"Stuck up cop that used to work with Rick. I swear, everything about that guy just screams that he's a bad person." Sam said, lacing his fingers with Dean's as they made their slow trek back to the quarry.

"Sounds like I'm gonna love the guy." Dean scoffed.

xxx

"Hey, man!" Theodore, better known as T-Dog, shouted as they entered the camp. Dean hadn't had the chance to meet him directly, but on their way back to camp Sam had given him a quick run down of the rest of the group. All of them sounded fairly easy to get along with with the exception of Shane. "Fire night." The taller man finished, waving the two of them over.

"I thought I had watch tonight?" Sam said, pointing up toward the top of the RV.

"I've got it, son." Bobby's knew gossip buddy Dale called down from the vehicle.

"Are you sure? I-"

"I've got it. Spend some more time with your brother, get him acquainted with the rest of us." The older man said, waving them off. Sam nodded and clapped Dean on the back, guiding him over to sit next to T-Dog.

"So, Dean." Shane began, crossing his arms over his chest. "You two seem pretty comfy." He said, motioning toward the fact that if Sam shifted even slightly closer, the younger would be sitting on Dean's lap. "Why'd you separate?" A soft murmur of _here we go again _echoed throughout the camp.

"Shane, I already-" Rick began, stopping as Dean held up a hand to silence him.

"No, no, it's okay. Our buddy over here's just curious." Dean said with a patronizing grin. Shane scowled, sneering at the man. Already in his bad graces it looks like. "I stayed behind to look for survivors. Heard about some sort of safe haven, a refugee camp for people. I'm not normally one to trust government made thing but I figured he'd be safer in a group of people rather than out with me." Dean said, his gaze set in a hard glare.

"That's enough of that, Shane." Dale said just as Shane was about to speak up again. The man sighed and looked away, out into the woods.

"So, I'm curious. What happened? How'd I get here." Dean asked, eyes trailing over every person in the camp.

"Glenn over there." Rick said, pointing toward the Korean. "Led us to a shop. Lots of stuff happened I'd rather not re-live, and here we are." Rick finished. Dean nodded, content with the answer. The shorter trained his eyes on the ground. Why Rick and Glenn hadn't just left him there as walker chow baffled him. Nothing but dead weight and they _still _ tried to save him.

"Dean, I'm not feeling to good." Sam whispered, leaning lightly on his brother's shoulder. Dean mouthed a quick _really?_ toward the younger man, sighing when Sam nodded in confirmation.

"Alright guys, I think we're gonna turn in for the night." Dean said. The others voiced their good nights as Dean assisted Sam to his feet, Bobby following slowly behind them. Once they made it into the tent, Sam all but collapsed on the bed, clutching his stomach in a vice grip.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Dean asked, pulling his brother into his arms.

"I don't know." Sam gasped, grabbing a fist full of Dean's shirt. Dean shushed him, holding the younger closer.

"Let's try to go to sleep." Dean said, laying down on the pile of blankets and pillows. Once they were laying down, Sam immediately wrapped his arms back around his brother's chest, burying his face in the crook of Dean's neck.

"Everything's alright, Sammy. I've gotcha now." Dean said, playing a gentle kiss on his brother's head. Sam sighed as his breathing evened out, sleeping finally claiming the younger Winchester. Not long after, the older followed suit, not noticing the figure standing in the entrance way, a small smile gracing his face.

xxx

Dean was shook awake by the deafening sound of a gunshot and the shrill screams of one of the girls in the camp. The older brother sat up, laying his whimpering brother down on the make-shift bed.

"Don't you dare move from this spot." Dean said, running out of the tent toward all the commotion just outside the camp.

"What happened?" Dean shouted toward a sickened looking Bobby.

"Walker found his way up here." Bobby replied, pointing out toward Shane and Rick dragging the body of the mutilated walker away. "Almost got one of the kids." The older added.

"Which one?" Dean asked, his face contorted in worry.

"Skylar." Bobby responded, unable to look at Dean's panic stricken face. "Dean, go back to sleep. Sam's sick, he needs you around." The older man said. Dean nodded toward his father figure and turned to head back to camp, relief flooding through him at the sight of his brother still laying right where he left him.

"Hey, baby boy." Dean said, using the old childhood pet name he had given Sam. His little brother smiled a pain filled smile and held his hands out toward Dean, motioning for him to come back over.

"Hi." Sam said, sighing contently as Dean scooped him up into his arms.

"How do you feel?" Dean asked, rubbing his fingers gently up and down his brother's back.

"I'll live." Sam replied, groaning a little as a sharp pain shot through his stomach.

"Oh, Sammy." Dean said, bring his hand up to his brother's sweaty fringe, gently carding his fingers through his hair. "Let's go back to sleep." Dean said. Sam nodded and shifted into a more comfortable position, falling asleep almost instantly.

xxx

By the time they woke up the next morning, Sam felt leaps better than he had the night before. While the nausea still lingered, the pain had receded and his legs no longer felt like jello.

Dean had been adamant about Sam spending the day back in the camp resting rather than hunting with Daryl, going on a run with Glenn, or even helping the girls out with washing the clothes, but Sam refused to stay in bed. Eventually Dean relented but he still swore up and down that if he tried to leave the camp he'd feed him to a walker.

So, Sam decided to go help out the girls.

Dean stayed behind in camp, curiously observing the men of the group, minus Ed, Bobby, and Dale, discussing something far off where no one could hear them. Shane looked a little more than aggravated, not like that was anything new however, while Rick, Glenn, and Daryl looked completely calm.

Dean turned away from the men, not interested in watching nothing but Shane's angry face and the others trying to talk him down. Other things far more important occupied the older Winchester's mind. For instance, It was only a matter of time before he, Sam, and Bobby had to leave the group to go out and search for Castiel. Dean doubted the entire group would be willing to help them search for one person, especially one they'd never even met.

_They helped you, Sam, and Bobby didn't they? Never met you before and yet they still saved your life._ Dean shook his head, pushing those thoughts out of his head. He couldn't allow himself to be that hopeful. Castiel may be their childhood best friend, but that meant nothing to this group of people. They help those that come to them it seems, they don't go looking for others.

Dean pulled his still half way charged cell phone out of his pocket, flipping it open and scrolling to his most recently read text from Cas. It said that he'd be down in Atlanta in 2 weeks and to keep an eye out for him. The text was send exactly 2 weeks ago from that day. If they left within the next few days they might still have a chance at finding Castiel, they might still have a chance to catch him before he even entered the city. Thing could turn out okay.

"'ey Dean." Glenn shouted, waving him over. The older man nodded and made his way to the group.

"Your dumb ass cop friend over here hand cuffed my brother to a roof and left him to the geeks." Daryl began, glaring murderously at Rick.

"W-what?" Dean asked, unable to believe the sheriff could do something so cruel. So inhumane.

"Figured outta everyone you'd be the one that understood." Daryl said, eyes downcast. Dean nodded and turned toward Rick, his best bitch face plastered across his features.

"Hand cuffed to a roof huh?" The older Winchester began. "Left him to the walkers? What kid of sick bastard are you?" Dean shouted, hands clenched at his sides.

"Look, if I hadn't he would've gotten us all killed!" Rick defended.

"So you lock him up then unlock him! How hard is that of a concept?" Dean asked, tossing his hands up in exasperation.

"Look, we're going back to get 'im you in or not?" Shane said, his face dangerously close to Dean's.

"Sure, I'll go." Dean said, smirking lightly. "If you help me find a friend of mine who was supposed to get to Atlanta today."

"Fine." Daryl said, shoving Shane out of the way. "What's he look like?" Dean shuffled through his pictures on his phone, pulling up the most recent picture he'd taken of Castiel. The men each took a turn at studying the picture, nodding when they were sure they would be able to recognize the face. Well, everyone except for Shane.

"Someone's gotta protect this place." Shane snarled, throwing his gun over his shoulder. Dean nodded and chuckled, turning away from him.

"I'm gonna go talk to Sam." Dean paused, sighing loudly. "If I die you know why." The older Winchester said, walking slowly down toward the river. Sam was going to kill him, and to be completely honest, he wasn't sure if he blamed him. If Dean was in Sam's shoes he was 100% sure that he would anyway.

"Sam, can I talk to you alone for a second?" Dean asked, startling Sam out of his task. Folding clothes. Could he get any more gay?

"Yeah, sure." Sam said, placing a gentle hand on Carol's shoulder before coming to stand in front of Dean. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to Atlanta with Rick, Glenn, and Daryl." Dean said, getting straight to the point. Sam sucked in a deep breath, his lips twitching in anger.

"No you're not! I just got you back and you think you're just gonna go waltzing off into ground zero?" Sam shouted, not caring about the audience staring behind them.

"Sam, listen to me, this may be our only chance to find Cas. You know, Castiel, our best friend since we were in diapers?" Dean said, his tone firm yet not angry. He needed Sam to understand that he wasn't putting his life on the line for some man he'd never met. He was doing this for their friend. Their _brother._ Sam sighed, his eyes downcast.

"I don't want you to go." Sam whispered.

"I know, but this is Cas we're talking about. If it was one of us out there, you know he'd do anything he could to help." Dean said, desperate to get his brother on board. Sam nodded and wiped his thumb across his bottom lip.

"Okay. Promise me you'll do everything you can to get back here in one piece." Sam said, looking his older brother sadly in the eyes.

"Of course." Dean replied, pulling his little brother into a tight hug. "Now, go back to your lady chores. I'll be back by tomorrow with Castiel." The older said, turning to go back to camp. Sam chuckled and waved, turning back toward the girls so Dean couldn't see the tears falling freely down his face.

xxx

An hour in and already this trip turned out to be a disaster. Daryl's brother was gone, cut off his own hand in a desperate attempt to escape, and Castiel was no where to be found.

One thing's for sure, he refused to turn back up at the quarry without Cas by his side. Sam may be the most important thing in the world to him, but Castiel was like family. Dean couldn't even count how many times the slightly younger man saved their asses from stupid little mistakes all the way up to huge catastrophes. Sam falling out of a tree, Cas caught him. Dean almost wrecking his car, Cas somehow managed to grab onto the wheel and steer out of the way of an oncoming semi-truck. No matter what, their angel had always been there for them.

And Dean refused to give up on him.


	3. Vatos

**Fandoms - The Walking Dead/Supernatural**

**Pairings - Canon TWD, Sam/Dean**

**Warnings - Wincest (incest)**

**Disclaimer - Don't own TWD or Supernatural no matter how much we wish we do**

"He knew that you needed to catch the fish, and I needed to throw them back." Amy said, tears in her eyes as she talked to Andrea. Andrea had tears in her eyes, too, and both women hastily wiped them away. "I think a subject change is in order." Amy said after a while, Andrea laughing softly.

"How about the new guys?" Andrea asked. Amy chuckled lightly and nudged her sister's shoulder playfully.

"Gossip huh? Sam's pretty cute." Amy said smugly, Andrea laughing. "He's very cute. Dean's not so bad, either." Andrea agreed.

"Dean is, in every sense of the word, a stud muffin." Amy replied, earning a hearty laugh from Andrea. Andrea nodded her head, face splitting smile still adorning her face.

"Oh yeah. Sam is baby face cute but Dean? Oh man." She said, her heart swelling at her sister's joyous laughter. It had been far too long since she'd heard her sister so full of life. Once their laughter died down, Andrea went to check her lines, sighing when she realized they still hadn't caught a single fish.

"Dean calls him Sammy. They must be pretty close." Amy said suddenly, checking her lines as well.

"They seem like it." Andrea responded, smiling lightly at her sister. What she would give for she and Amy to have a relationship as strong as the Winchester brothers'.

"But the things I would do to Sam." Andrea said after a while, earning another prized laugh from her sister.

"I agree with you there. Cute and has a nice body." Both women laughed, hauling in the fish they'd finally caught for that night's dinner.

XXX

The group finally made it to the top of the building where they had left Merle, but, to their horror, Merle wasn't there. It was a shock to say the least when they found his hand rotting on the ground, as well as a trail of blood leading off of the building. "This is your fault!" Daryl yelled, aiming his crossbow at T-Dog. Rick was quick to draw his gun, aiming at Daryl.

"Put your weapon down, right now!" Rick yelled in return. They didn't have time for this.

"No! Merle may be dead because of this asshole!" Daryl yelled back, taking another quick step toward the horrified looking T-Dog.

"Put it down, or else!" Rick yelled again. Daryl continued to ignore him, his crossbow still aimed at the man whom he held responsible for the loss of his brother.

"Aiming your weapons at each other won't do any good." Dean shouted, stepping in between the two. "The more noise we make, the more we'll be noticed. It would be better to keep moving and find him while he still has a chance." He said again, Daryl and Rick lowering their weapons.

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna forgive this asshole so easily." Daryl griped, picking up his brother's severed hand and wrapping it in a bandana before shoving it into T-Dog's backpack, much to the other's dismay.

"I never asked you to forgive 'im, I asked you to shut up so we could actually have a chance of finding your brother." Dean said, walking ahead of the group. Daryl and Rick sent glaces each other's way, rolling their eyes as they followed after him.

XXX

Back at camp, Sam wearily watched Jim dig a bunch of holes. Not that Jim digging holes just for the Hell of it wasn't creepy enough, those holes also looks suspiciously like graves. He knew he should alert the others, but his stomach was starting to cramp up again and the last thing he felt like doing was getting up. Besides, this wasn't behavior befitting of Jim, and he knew that.

A couple nights before Dean had found them again, Sam had another vision. His head burning like Hell as the images of Jim digging the deep graves flashed through his mind, only to be replaced by the images of himself and the others burying members of their group in them. Sam knew he should step up and talk to the man about it, but he didn't even know where to start. He couldn't just go up to him and say hey, when I was a baby a demon bled into my mouth so I have these visions and you need to stop digging these holes.

Jim seemed to be feeling pretty bad himself, the hundred degree plus weather doing nothing to help. Looks like Georgia summers were as sweltering as he'd always heard. Sam figured that he needn't worry about talking to Jim considering one of the others in camp would probably speak up themselves. He'd given up on small talk after the first shot he'd taken at getting the man to take his attention away from the graves failed miserably. Sure enough, not long after, Dale ended up coming up there with the others, and spoke to Jim lightly. "You need to drink some water." Dale said, offering Jim the canteen. Jim swatted it away, slicing through the ground with his shovel and tossing the dirt into the endless pile sat next to the hole.

"Hey, Jim?" Shane asked after a while. "I'm just a little concerned, man." Jim swung the shovel at Shane, irritated with the constant badgering of those in the camp. Shane dodged the shovel before tackling the overworked man and cuffing him.

"The only reason I got away was because the dead were too busy eating my family." Jim cried, weeping into the soil beneath his head. A pang of guilt stabbed through Sam, and his vision swam. Was that how Dean had felt when he had found Ellen's remains? When he found the car with what he thought was Sam being eaten? Shane dragged the hysterical man away, Sam watching sadly as they faded in the distance.

XXX

Daryl looked at the trail of blood on the rooftop, squinting in the sunlight. "This is some messed up shit." he grumbled, following the trail of blood.

"He took down walkers in his condition? Man he must be one badass motherfucker." Dean said smirking, clearing his throat at the unamused glances sent his way. " I mean, that's worthy of admiration." Dean said, giving a nervous thumbs up as he followed the others.

"He is ya know? My brother is a tough son of a bitch." Daryl said, smirking back at Dean. At least someone in this camp didn't have a nine inch stick up their asses.

"That's nothin' now." Daryl said, poking through the kitchens with the others close behind. The others stood in shock as their gaze fell on the kitchen stove, blood covering the surface.. "Looks like he cauterized it." Rick noted, setting the portable gas burner down on the countertop.

"Jesus Christ." Dean said, wiping a hand across his mouth. It's not like it's anything he hadn't seen before, Hell, he'd seen people ripped to shreds right in front of him. This time however, it just seemed different. Maybe it was because Daryl and Merle had been brothers, just like he and Sam. If Dean had been walking in Daryl's shoes he didn't know if he'd still be standing let alone pulling off the tough front Daryl was now.

"C'mon. Let's go get your stupid back of guns." Daryl said, slinging his crossbow over his shoulders. Rick gave a sad nod toward the hunter and followed him out of the building. Dean sighed as he covered the rear, hands shaking as the images of Sammy chopping off his hand and cauterizing the stump flooded his mind.

The group moved on, conversing about how they would acquire the bag of guns left in the street below. "I know this city like the back of my hand." Glenn said, going over a drawn diagram on the floor of an office building. "You take this alley two blocks down, Daryl and I will take the alley directly across from the guns." Rick looked at Glenn questioningly.

"Why two blocks down?" he asked.

"If we're swarmed by the walkers, we can run down the street rather than back the way we came. It's easier to do that than it would be to circle back."

"What did you do before this? City worker or something?" Daryl asked curiously.

"Nah, pizza delivery boy." Glenn grinned back, Dean snickering. "Better than being a bartender in some sleazy town." Glenn bit back, the patronizing grin disappearing from Daryl's face.

"Hey I wasn't-" Dean cut between the two of them, effectively cutting off any further chance for argument.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." Daryl rolled his eyes, making his way across the room. He made his way down to the alleyway with Glenn, both taking their positions and looking out into the street. "It's crawlin' with walkers. You got balls for a China-man." Daryl said. Glenn chuckled and turned his attention from the walker infested street back to Daryl.

"I'm Korean." Glenn shot back.

"Same difference." Daryl returned. Glenn scoffed and shook his head, turning his attention back toward the street.

"I'll just go out, grab it, and run back." Glenn said after a moment. "I'm a fast runner. Easy as pie" Daryl nodded.

"I'll provide back up if ya need it. Just get it and keep moving." Glenn nodded, making his way out of the alleyway and into the street to get to the bag of guns and ammo. Daryl watched nervously, waiting patiently for Glenn to get it and get back. As long as Glenn kept quiet and ran fast, this really would be a piece of cake. But, low and behold, some kid decided to sneak up behind Daryl, the older man slamming him against the wall.

"Who are you?" Daryl snarled, aiming his crossbow at the boy's heart. The kid screamed bloody murder, alerting every walker within a fifty yard radius of their presence. Not that Daryl knew or understood what the kid was yelling, didn't exactly pay attention in Spanish class, all he knew was that he was probably calling for help. Another thing he was well aware of was that he had to shut the kid up before the walkers came at them.

He tackled the kid to the ground, slugging him in the face a few times before Glenn came running. Everything was going wrong by that point. A group of men driving an old, beat up car jumped the short man, dragging him into the vehicle. Glenn shouted desperately for Daryl, the hunter unable to get to him before the fuckers drove off. Glenn was taken, and in his rage, Daryl shot one of the punk kid's asshole friends in the ass with his crossbow. Dean, Rick, and the others came running at the commotion, wondering what the hell was going on. "They took Glenn!" Daryl shouted as they came running. "I'm gonna stop your ass!" Daryl shouted, pointing toward the scrawny boy T-Dog held up against the brick wall.

"Let me go!" The boy shouted, only managing to infuriate the hunter more.

"Who is 'they'?" Dean asked, voice cutting through all the chaos.

"Hell if I know, this punk ass kid's friends or somethin'!" Rick looked at the frightened kid pressed against the wall.

"I have an idea."

XXX

Back at the camp, Shane had Jim tied to a tree in the shade. It was the only way to keep the man and the others in the camp safe after what had happened with the throwing the shovel thing. Jim had obviously suffered from massive heat stroke, the man sweating horribly, lolling in and out of consciousness throughout the day. Deciding he had nothing to lose by talking to the sickly man, Sam lifted himself off the ground with a painful groan and made his way over to Jim.

"I'm sorry about your family." Sam said after a moment, lifting a canteen filled with clean water to Jim's lips. The man drank eagerly, head finally clear enough to realize water is good. Not a distraction.

"You only have your brother and Bobby, right?" Jim asked. Sam shook his head.

"Our friend Castiel is still out there. I know he is. Been best friends since we were babies." Sam said, grinning at the childhood memories floating through his head.

"Cherish them. Keep them safe." Jim said, choking on his words. Sam nodded sadly as tears pooled down the man's face. Sam sighed and sat down next to the man, contemplating whether or not to tell him about his visions.

"You've been having visions, right? Of the walkers." Sam asked, Jim nodding blankly in response.

"Well, what if I told you that you weren't alone?" This caught Jim's attention, the man lifting his head enough to stare Sam in the eye.

"What do you mean?" Jim asked.

" For the past few years I've had these visions. Premonitions more like." Sam paused, watching as the man's eyes slowly lost the flame of hope that burned in them not a second ago. "I know that sounds crazy but, it's true. I saw you digging the holes you know?" He said, watching as the man took his eyes back off the ground and met Sam's. "Did you see us burying the people in them?" Jim asked, his voice hoarse and painful sounding. Sam nodded sadly, his own eyes darting to the soft soil below their feet. Jim closed his eyes, deep breathes pouring from the older man's lips. "I pray to God our visions are wrong then, Sam." Jim finished, turning away from the youngest Winchester. Sam left after a while, wanting nothing more than to just sit and play a game with Skylar. The little girl had taken an extreme liking to Sam, the man one of the only ones in the camp not constantly too preoccupied to spend some time with her. Sometimes when she'd have nightmares or was too scared to sleep with the other kids, she'd hop out of bed and cuddle up with Sam. She felt safe around him, much like she had with her own daddy.

Jim sighed audibly and turned toward Lori, catching the woman's attention. Clearing his throat, Jim apologised for scaring the children earlier. That's the last thing he had wanted to do. Lori nodded and walked slowly over toward Jim, arms crossed over her chest.

"Why were you digging?" Lori asked. pouring a fair amount of water over Jim's head in an attempt to keep him cool..

"Something I dreamt last night." Jim said, leaving out the part that he hadn't actually been asleep.. "I can't really remember the details, though." Lori nodded, looking over at Carl.

"Never let him out of your sight." Jim said, a tint of regret in his tone. Lori nodding in understanding, jumping up and pulling her son into a tight hug. No way was she ever letting her baby out of her sight.

XXX

Interrogation wasn't going so well considering the stupid punk ass kid refused to provide any information. They needed to find Glenn, and they were running out of time. For all they knew Glenn could be being tortured or worse, could have been killed. Not to mention Dean was worried about Castiel, too, his attention distracted from the task at hand as a result.

Where was he? Dean wondered. He was supposed to have made it to Atlanta by now. Dean seriously considered slipping out of the room a few times, desperate to go back and search for his friend. This was nothing but a waste of time and it was at the cost of, quite possibly, two people's lives.

Bringing his attention back toward the rest of the group, Dean noticed Daryl taking Merle's severed hand out of T-Dog's pack, showing it to the kid. "Know anything about this?" he hissed, the boy shaking his head frantically. "Did you do this, you little punk?" Daryl yelled, ignoring the fact the kid already said he had nothing to do with it. the kid shaking in fear.

"Naw, man, naw! I swear, we had nothing to do with whatever that is!" Daryl glared at the kid, Rick sighing.

"You're gonna take us to where Glenn is, you little bitch. And you wanna know what else? You're gonna help us get him back." Dean said, smirking down at the kid. Years of intimidating and beating information out of people made his orders ones you couldn't just smirk and brush off. When Dean wanted to be intimidating, he was.

"No." The kid said, screeching as Dean forcefully hauled him to his feet, dragging him toward the door.

"Oh yes you will." Dean snarled, kicking the door open and shoving the kid outside.

XXX

Moments later, the group arrived at the kid's friends' hideout. The place was trashed. Holes in the walls, debris everywhere. If it hadn't been for the several angry men walking out of the brick building Dean would think the place was uninhabited.

"Looks like you brought our friend back." The man, Guillermo, spoke.

"We're here to trade. Your friend here, for ours." Rick proposed, voice laced with false confidence.. Guillermo pretended to think about it for a moment before shaking his head. "I would rather have the guns." he said.

"Your friend, his life means nothing to you?" Dean asked, arching a brow. These people were nutcases if they were really willing to trade a life for a bag of guns.

"You've got me wrong here. It's not that his life means nothing to us." Guillermo began. "It's a matter of protecting ourselves against what's out there. Now give us our guns back." Rick shook his head.

"They ain't yours. They're mine." Guillermo sighed, pointing up to the rooftop. "We've got two of yours. The Asian kid, and one other. Bag of guns for the Asian, and our friend for the other."

Dean's eyes widened, his chest tightening painfully. Had Sam followed them despite his direct orders to stay back at camp? "One other? Who?" he asked, clenching his fists tightly against his side. He looked up to the rooftop, his heart stopping as he recognized a familiar trench coach came into view. Castiel. "Castiel!" Dean shouted, running up towards the men. Rick and Daryl grabbed at Dean's arms, holding him back. "Let me the fuck go you bastards!" Dean shouted, struggling to get lose of the two men's strong hold. Guillermo motioned for the men holding Castiel to take off the sack covering his head, fear filled blue eyes meeting Dean's the second it was taken off.

"No guns, no friends." Guillermo said, Dean still struggling to get free of the arms now dragging him away from his friend.

"Cas, I swear I'll get you out of here. I swear!" Dean shouted as the men shoved Castiel out of his sight.

XXX

"I still won't see why we have to give up the guns." Daryl said, obviously angry.

"It's our fault that Glenn was captured. I owe him one, I ain't leaving that debt unpaid." Rick said. "The other guy, he's your friend, right?" Rick asked Dean, sympathy splayed across the elder's face as he set his eyes on the anxious form in front of him.

"Yeah. He's the one I came here for." Dean said, fiddling with the strings on the hoodie he was still wearing. His worry for Castiel and his brother was sickening. Not only way Castiel in the possession of men that cared more about a damn bag of guns than their friend, Sam had been sick when he had left. Castiel, being the doctor of the group, would know what to do for Sam. With Dean's help, he'd be better in no time.

"We need to do what we can to get them both back." Dean said determined.. Rick nodded, shouldering the bag of guns.

"I can't believe this." Daryl groaned, Rick giving the archer a pointed look.

"Glenn saved my ass when I was stuck inside of a tank with no other options. I'm returning the favor." he said firmly.

"Fine." Daryl agreed, leaving with the group. This time when they brought the punk kid with them, they brought him bound and gagged with guns pointed at him. As a sign of good nature and pure intentions, he was then freed and shoved toward his friends.

"You have your man, I want mine." Rick said.

"Fine." Guillermo said, motioning back into the shelter. Out came one of the men, Glenn no longer gagged or tied up. The man gave a forceful shove and Glenn was sent spiraling into the ground.

"You okay?" Rick asked, helping Glenn back to his feet. The Korean nodded, rubbing and the sore spots on his wrists where he had been bound.

"Now, give us our guns, and you can have the other one.." Guillermo demanded.

"They ain't yours." Rick said again, refusing to hand them over. Dean groaned and clenched his hands, stopping himself from ripping the bag out of the sheriff's hands and handing them over himself. Not like they really needed more guns considering every man within eye shot carried a loaded gun, but still. They needed to free Castiel. Seeing his oldest friend bound and gagged was sickening, his heart beating painfully in his chest.

Suddenly, an elderly woman parted the crowds, going over to one of the gang members and desperately tugged at his arm. "He needs his medicine." She said softly, worry tinting her quiet tone. Noticing the sheriff in the room, the old woman covered her mouth in shock, walking over to him. "Oh please don't arrest him. He's a good boy I promise. He just made a mistake!" She cried, clutching onto Rick's arm tightly. "You won't arrest him right?"

"No, ma'am, I'm not here to arrest anyone." he assured the woman. She smiled a sweet smile of relief, grasping onto Rick's hand tightly.

"Good! Now come along, he needs his medicine." The old lady stopped near the gangster who still held a tied and gagged Castiel, smacking the vato hard on the arm. "You let that poor boy go! It's obvious he's not enjoying himself." She said, making sure the man was untied before continuing on. Castiel stood frozen, Dean running over and pulling the now shaky man into his arms.

"Hey, I told ya we'd be back." Dean said, chuckling softly as Castiel cried tears filled with relief. He'd truly thought he was dead the way that exchange had been going. "And you know, I was about five seconds away from ripping that bad a guns out of Rick's hands and throwing them at that dude." Dean said, earning a chuckle from his friend. Castiel and Dean pulled apart, Cas wiping desperately at the tears falling down his face.

"Gotta stop with the emotions, huh?" Castiel chuckled. "No chickflick moments." Dean scoffed and ruffled his friend's hair.

"You thought you were gonna die over a bag of stupid guns. I can make an exception." Cas nodded, a soft smile gracing his features. "Now c'mon, better go catch up with grandma and Sheriff Idiot."

XXX

"We're caring for the residents here." Guillermo provided after a moment, Dean and Cas walking up behind the rest of the group. "We're willing to fight for the weapons and medicine to do so. You know, the staff took off, just left them here to die." he said, disbelief clouding his tone. Guillermo sighed and shook his head, walking along with the others to administer medicine to the man that needed it. "I was a janitor here but Felipe's a nurse so that's something. The rest of the gang just acts as security." he said as he watched the old man before him breath in deeply once again, the inhaler working wonders on the poor man's tired lungs.. Rick was struck with sympathy at that moment, walking off to speak to Guillermo privately. Deciding that the loss of a couple weapons was far more than worth it, Rick handed over several guns.

"Thank you." Guillermo said after accepting the weapons. "May you and your friends stay safe."

Rick placed a friendly hand on Guillermo's shoulder. "I wish the same for all of you."

"Where is Sam?" Castiel asked as they exited the nursing home.

"He's safe, don't worry. He was feeling pretty sick last night so I told him to stay back." Dean replied. Castiel nodded and threw his hands into the pocket of his trench coat.

"Bet I have something in my car. Believe it or not, I parked it by the Impala." Castiel said, chuckling at the excited glint in Dean's eyes.

"The Impala? It's still there?" He asked, practically jumping up and down. Castiel laughed loudly and nodded his head, pointing out toward the highway.

"Right where ya left it." Dean fist bumped the air, letting out an excited whoop.

"Guys, you are in for the ride of a lifetime." Dean said as he jumped in front of all the others, Rick and Glenn shaking their heads in amusements. " C'mon, Cassie, let's get out of here so you can meet the others at the camp.." he said, slowing his pace to match the other's.. Castiel followed, the group heading for the still gasless Impala and Castiel's old chevy classic.

Little time was spent siphoning gas for the Impala before the whole group was on the road, out to search for the van they had originally came in. Glenn road in the front seat of Dean's car while Daryl rode in back. Rick decided he'd rather ride with Castiel considering he'd already taken his turn in the classic and he'd love to get to know the man more.

"Man this is a sweet ride." Glenn said, a huge smile covering his face. Dean nodded smugly, relaxing in his seat a little more.

"Oh yeah, my baby's the best around." Glenn chuckled.

"Can't argue there." Glenn said, sliding down to a more comfortable sitting position. Dean turned back to Daryl to see the man checking out the car's interior.

"Like what ya see?" Dean asked, grinning as Daryl nodded and scoffed in amazement.

"Hell yeah. I'd pay some serious cash for a ride like this." The older said. Dean clapping his hands against the steering wheel, loving the adoration his passengers were giving his baby.

Once they arrived at the train tracks, a collective groan rang out across the car.

The van was missing

."Who would take it?" Glenn asked as he lifted himself from the car. Rick and Castiel joined them, the sheriff's jaw clenched as he spoke one name.

"Merle." Even Daryl winced at that one, his brother probably headed back to camp for revenge. Not the most comforting thought in the world, but it was definitely one that needed to be considered. The group quickly piled in their respective cars and drove off.

XXX

At the camp, Shane opted to free Jim so that he could join him and the others for a fish fry. These were hard times, and sometimes a nice night was needed. Maybe being with friends would be enough to snap Jim out of the horrible state of anxiety he'd been trapped in the past week. Sam was even feeling well enough to join in, and everyone was laughing and happy for the first time in a while. It seemed like everyone was so strained lately, not that Sam could blame any of them for it. With the world that way it currently was, how could he blame them? Everyone was afraid or stressed or unwell, and he could clearly see what kind of guy Shane was. Some of the things that he did came from a good place, but not all of them. Not enough to say he was a good person.

Sam watched all of the smiling people as they enjoyed the night with their families. The Morales family playing a limited game of I Spy due to the darkness of the night, Amy and Andrea clearly gossiping about Dean, Lori teaching little Carl how to make noise by blowing into a bottle, and even Carol and Sophia escaped the confines of Ed to enjoy the cool night.. Bobby sat next to Sam, holding Skylar in his lap – the little girl that Sam had decided adopted as his own. The little girl seemed to have no complaints, in fact she had been the one with the idea in the first place. After she had slipped up one day and mistakenly called him daddy, there had been no turning back. "Your brother is fine." Bobby said after a moment. "Stop worrying so much. Dean is Dean, and he's gonna pull through no matter what. He's gonna pull through for you, nothing in this world is gonna stop him." Sam smiled at Bobby's words, fiddling with the zipper on the leather jacket that Dean had sneaked into his pack for him.

"I know. But that doesn't keep me from worrying." Bobby nodded and handed the sleepy child over to Sam, the taller man cuddling the small girl to his chest. _I hope she and Dean become as close as we are. _

While Dale was going on and on with his Faulkner lesson, Amy decided to escape with the typical duty calls excuse. She could only listen to Dale's speech for so long without going crazy. Amy smiled lightly at herself in the mirror, excitement flowing through her as she realized that tomorrow was her birthday, and Andrea had made sure she knew that she'd absolutely adore her present. Amy sighed contently and walked out of the RV, a sudden searing pain ripping it's way through her arm as a walker bit into the flesh. The younger sister screamed in agony, Andrea jumping out of her seat and running toward her sister immediately. Walkers were attacking the Quarry.

No life left in the city meant that the walkers would start migrating to where life was abundant, desperate for a new source of food. Sam's hatred increased ten fold as he watched in horror as Andrea cried over her sister, crying out that she didn't know what to do. That she couldn't help her sister. A small cry came from the child in his lap as she awoke to the chaos around them, walkers at every corner. Sam lifted Skylar into his arms and ran as fast as he could to the closest clear space left in the camp, covering the girl's ears to shield her from the sound of gun shots. Shane called open fire on the walkers, Morales and Jim bashing them with bats and crow bars. Sam cried out as a walker snarled behind him, grabbing at him and Skylar before falling to the ground, a bullet wound prominent in its head.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted as he ran up to them, grabbing hold of Sam's arm and dragging him toward the RV where a sizable defense force had built up. Several people, Sam noticed, were missing from the defense and group huddled behind them. No one he had truly gotten to know well, but they were still part of their group regardless. Bobby turned and locked eyes with Dean, motioning for them to get behind him.

"Come on, you idgits! Hurry up!" Sam and Dean ran like Hell, Skylar screaming hoarsely in Sam's arms.

"It's okay, it's okay." Sam said as they made it behind Bobby, Dean lifting a forgotten gun on the ground and joined the line of shooters. "I've got ya, nothing's going to happen to you." Sam said gently, carding his fingers through the young girl's blonde locks. Once the walkers were disposed of Dean dropped the gun back where he found it, pulling Sam and Skylar into a bone crushing hug. "You okay, Sammy? Is she okay? Were either of you bitten?" Dean asked frantically, checking the two of them over for any sign of injury.

"No, no, we're okay. We're okay, Dean." Sam said, accepting Dean's kiss. He didn't even bother to worry about the shocked glances cast their way.

"Thank goodness." Dean sighed, taking Skylar from Sam and hugging her tightly to his chest. The little girl clung tightly to Dean's neck, tears drying on her puffy red face.

"You okay, princess?" he asked, the little girl curling into his chest and clinging even tighter to the hoodie he was wearing. "I'll take that as a yes." Dean laughed, holding his other hand out for Sam after taking his own gun back from Glenn and placing it in the holster. Sam took Dean's hand, not letting Dean go anywhere leave until he got his hug. Sam was in no hurry to let Dean or Skylar go, so the three of them stood there in their embrace for a good while before Sam finally let go and head toward the middle of the camp, joining the rest of the group.

The aftermath was horrid, Dean noted. Andrea was crying as her sister died, begging God for a chance to save her sister. Dean sighed as the memories of his deal with the crossroad demon shot into his head. That had been one Hell of a year but looking back at it now, his time in Hell, he knew it was worth it. The remaining members of the group sat huddled with their families, tears falling and sobs echoing throughout the air.

"We should have gotten here sooner." Dean said guilt ridden, looking away from the carnage. Sam shook his head and gave his brother another soft kiss, wiping away the tear that had fallen from his brother's green eyes.

"There's nothing you could have done. I'm just glad you got here when you did." Sam said, eyeing the sleeping little girl in Dean's arms. Dean nodded and placed a soft kiss on the girl's forehead, sitting down next to a frazzled Rick.

"You're not really brothers are you?" Rick asked, his voice hoarse and tired. Dean sucked in a deep breath, deciding it would be better to say they had lied rather than admit they were having an incestuos sexual relationship with each other.

"No. Not a lot of people are accepting of our relationship so we just sorta say that." Dean said, Rick nodding in understanding.

"We won't judge. None of us." Rick assured, clapping Dean lightly on the shoulder. Dean nodded and looked toward Sam, a small smile gracing his younger brother's features.

"I-I remember my dream now..." Jim interrupted, the whole group's attention turned toward him. "Why I dug the holes." It was chilling, Dean noted, shivers rolling down his spine and skin breaking out in a cold sweat. He looked at Sam, the other man was obviously feeling some sort of turmoil. He could see it in his eyes. He had known this was going to happen, and by the look on Sam's face, so had he.

Before Dean had a chance to question Sam on his knowledge of the day's events, Sam uttered a small, "Where is Castiel?"

"Right here." Castiel muttered, taking a seat next to Sam.

"Oh, Cas." Sam began, looking at his friend's face. Across his temple was a gash, and his lip was split clean open. Most of the blood had been cleaned up, but his coat and neck were still splattered with the stuff.

"Nothing I can't handle, Sam. It's good to see you safe." Castiel said, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam smiled and gave Castiel an awkward half hug in response. "Dean came for me, with the others. Wouldn't have gotten out alive if not for them." he said.

"I'll be sure to thank them later." Sam said relieved, Castiel nodding and Dean smiling. They were together again, as promised. That was all he could have ever hoped for, especially with the world gone to shit.


	4. Wildfire

**Fandoms: The Walking Dead/Supernatural**

**Pairings: Sam/Dean, canon TWD**

**Warnings: Wincest (insest) **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the writing unfortunately.**

**Notes: Ruby is still in her first body she was ever shown in. Also, the dead rising seal was one made up by me. (Kind of influenced by the Rise of the Witnesses but not really.)**

"Dean, we can't just leave him here." Sam said, pulling his brother aside. "He's our friend." Dean sighed, rubbing his forehead in irritation.

"He's going to turn, Sam. Whether we like it or not, Jim is dead. I'd rather not have the blood of all the people sitting in that RV on my hands when he goes after them." Dean replied, his heart tinged with guilt. The look on Sammy's face as he stared up at the lonesome tree Daryl and Rick were tying Jim to was enough to break his heart. His little brother was never one to just take that there was nothing they could do lying down, and it was obvious the fact there really _wasn't _anything they could do was taking it's toll on him. "Listen, I get-"

"No, it's okay." Sam whispered, eyes downcast. "It was just, I don't know. I'm just tired of losing people." Dean nodded in understanding and hugged his brother tightly.

"You do know this wasn't your fault right?" Dean asked, tilting Sam's head up enough he could peer into his brother's glazed green eyes. The younger nodded and flicked his eyes away from Dean, hand going up to rub at the back of his neck. _Like I really don't know all your nervous habits, Sammy._

"Yeah, I can see that." Dean grinned, tucking a strand of loose hair behind Sam's ear.

"You've been really sappy lately you know that?" Sam chuckled, wiping at his eyes. Dean laughed with him, nodding his head.

"Hell yeah. Not like you can blame me." Dean started, wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders.

_Pain._

"I'm sorry, man." Sam said, kneeling down next to the sickly man in front of him.

_Fire._

"Get out, before you become one of them too."

_Needles._

"Go!" And suddenly Jim's face was one of theirs, rotted and mangled. The once man reached out to grab him, snapping his teeth toward Sam's arm.

_Agony._

"Sam!" Then his head was blown to bits, brains and blood splattered across Sam's face. "Sam!"

The cool drip of water down Sam's neck was enough to bring him back to reality, his head pounding and chest tight. The younger Winchester gripped tightly at the person's shirt, pulling them into an almost crushing hug.

"Uhm-"

"Ruby?" Sam asked shocked, slight embarrassment tinging his tone. One thing's for sure, that was definitely _not _Dean and that Ruby would probably hold this over his ever living soul forever. Sam coughed lightly, willing the red tinge in his cheeks to go away.

"Don't worry. I'll give you back to your boyfriend, brother...whatever you two are after we have a little chat." Ruby said, crossing her arms over her chest. Sam rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, desperate to get whatever the demon wanted to say out of the way so he could go back to camp and find Dean. If he didn't know any better, Sam would say the older was probably freaking the fuck out.

"Alright, what do you want?" Sam asked, his voice tinted with false patience.

"The Rise of the Dead. Look, I know you want to please your brother by not delving into your powers more, but you need to." Sam scoffed and turned away. "Listen, there's only five seals left. _Five._ And if you don't solve all this now, those corpses out there turn into just another batch of Satan's army." Ruby said, walking around the taller man until she was facing him once again. Sam was the picture of irritation, his brow furrowed as he bit his bottom lip. This was _not _happening.

"If you're honestly so worried about it, find a different way." Sam bit back. Ruby sighed and crossed her arms, her eyes trained on her shoes.

"There is no other way. So you either step up to the plate, or you don't. Just so you know however, one way everyone lives, the other, everyone dies. Your pick." And just like that, Ruby was gone. Sam sighed and rubbed his forehead, taking a quick second to assess his surroundings. The younger Winchester could easily deduce that he had no clue where he was and there was little chance of making it back to camp before sun down. Not only that, but he was unarmed.

"Absolutely wonderful." Sam groaned, deciding to just start walking despite the fact he could be going the completely wrong direction. It was never a wise idea to stay in one place for too long, especially if you're unarmed and alone like he was. _Come on, Dean…_

Sam spent the better of an hour aimlessly roaming the forest, catching the sight of very few walkers roaming the woods. He had expected more after the attack on the quarry but it seemed as if most of the ones that hadn't been there during the shootout hadn't made it there yet. Once he got back, well, _if_ he got back, he'd have to let the others know about them.

"Sam!?" The youngest heard someone shout. The voice was familiar, but definitely not someone he had known for very long. Sam stood still, waiting for the voice to shout out again. "Sam!"

"I'm here!" He shouted, immediately hearing the rustle of leaves accompanying the person's quick footsteps. Before long, Dale emerged from the trees, a rifle clutched tightly in his hands. Sam let out a relieved sigh as he walked up to the older man.

"Jeez son, you nearly gave us all a heart attack. Your brother's- I mean, boyfriend is tearing this place apart lookin' for ya!" Dale exclaimed, pointing back toward where Sam could only assume the camp was.

"I'm sorry. I didn't-I don't know how to explain." Sam said, shrugging his shoulders lightly. Dale gave a confused nod and turned back around, motioning for Sam to follow. The two walked in silence back toward the camp, Sam almost sick at the thought of seeing his brother again. He couldn't imagine how worried the older must have been.

"Dean." Sam said as they came up behind a slumped over Dean, the older's head buried in his hands. The second the older heard his voice he shot up and around, his tear stained face meeting Sam's dirt ridden one.

"Where the Hell were you!" Dean screamed, getting in Sam's face. The other just stood there. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" The older's voice choked as another tear fell from his eyes. Dean was quick to wipe it away.

"Ruby." Was all Sam could say as he watched his brother tremble slightly. Dean immediately looked back up from the ground, his face twisting into one of anger.

"Is she crazy!? Dragging you out there what I assume was unarmed, in the middle of the woods at night, surrounded by walkers!? Honestly?" Dean all but shouted, pacing back and forward. Sam grabbed hold of his brother's shoulders, pausing his frantic pacing.

"She's gone now, okay? Let's just worry about it later." Sam said quietly. "I'm honestly feeling kinda sick again and I really just want to sleep." Something changed in Dean's face as Sam uttered those words and before he knew it, Dean was taking his hand and pulling him back toward camp. The two settled in their tent quickly, the two of them lying in each other's warm embraces under the covers. Sam sighed contently, burying his face deep in the crook of his brother's neck.

"So, what did she say?" Dean asked for a while. It was obvious the question had been eating at him since Sam had even mentioned Ruby.

"Not something we need to worry about. Not yet anyway." Sam said, his voice lathered with sleep. Dean nodded and decided not to press on. Sam would tell him when he was good and ready. What occupied his head next however, was the question of how they were going to solve this. There were far too many of the undead out there for them to go about the normal rituals and to be quite honest, he didn't think those rituals would even _work._ The walkers seemed different than the other zombies that they had came across in the past.

"We could try the CDC." Dean heard Sam whisper. The older nodded as he thought the idea through. If there were still people there, they might be walking into the safest haven any of them had seen for a while. Almost as good as Bobby's bunker back at the house.

"Yeah, we'll talk it through with Rick tomorrow."

**Short I know but this chapter was legit the hardest I've had to write. I wanted to steer away from the original plot line for TWD a bit and this is what came of it.**


End file.
